Technically, I go to two schools, and both are going to have Quiz Bowl teams next year. I'm wondering if I would be allowed to play on both of their teams at NAQT events and History Bowl, not at the same tournament, of course. The reason that I want to do this is because one is going to History Bowl nationals, assuming they make it, which I expect they will, and the other's goal is to attend HSNCT. Is it allowed to play for two teams at different events?

I suppose it should be pointed out that History Bowl ought not to be considered a substitute for playing regular quizbowl.

Anyway, different tournament organizers will have different eligibility requirements. NAQT has their eligibility requirements posted on their website. They suggest, but do not require, that all affiliated tournaments follow their eligibility rules. So you should always make sure that you are eligible prior to competing. For purposes of the HSNCT, the relevant rule is this:

Section E, Number 6 wrote:A player with affiliations at multiple schools may compete for all such schools during the competition year, but may only represent a single school at any given tournament.

Ethically, I personally would feel wrong if I played quiz bowl for 2 teams without full switching schools, but I'm not going to wear a black armband over someone else doing it. I'm happy that you are posting about this, because if you do choose to play for both, the community will know what's going on, as opposed to just showing up and causing people to talk behind your back or even an overblown scandal.

How many hours a week do you spend at each school, and which one at the end of the day is going to be giving you your diploma? Where do you do your other extracurriculars/what have other students in your situation done in the past in Des Moines? Just something to think about. Many state athletic commissions make athletes sit out a year if they switch schools without moving. You said "technically", which makes makes me think that you go to one school, and then are just taking courses that aren't offered at your high school at the other high school. If that's the case, then I'd consider just playing for the main one. But again, you seem to be willing to communicate to tournament directors, so since quiz bowl is more independent then other sports, you'd probably be ok.

(the following is complete hypothetical speculation)If you do choose to play for both, they will probably go to a lot of the same tournaments, and eventually play each other. Just make sure you have the integrity to deal with that, and make sure your teammates on both sides are ok with the whole situation. Their could be some real sour grapes if you go about it the wrong way.

Best of luck.

NalinScranton Middle School (2000-2003)Brighton High School (2003-2007)Michigan State University (2007-2011)Semi-Retired (2012-present)

Broad-tailed Grassbird wrote:How many hours a week do you spend at each school, and which one at the end of the day is going to be giving you your diploma? Where do you do your other extracurriculars/what have other students in your situation done in the past in Des Moines? Just something to think about. Many state athletic commissions make athletes sit out a year if they switch schools without moving. You said "technically", which makes makes me think that you go to one school, and then are just taking courses that aren't offered at your high school at the other high school. If that's the case, then I'd consider just playing for the main one. But again, you seem to be willing to communicate to tournament directors, so since quiz bowl is more independent then other sports, you'd probably be ok.

(the following is complete hypothetical speculation)If you do choose to play for both, they will probably go to a lot of the same tournaments, and eventually play each other. Just make sure you have the integrity to deal with that, and make sure your teammates on both sides are ok with the whole situation. Their could be some real sour grapes if you go about it the wrong way.

Best of luck.

In Iowa, there is zero organization/bureaucracy for quizbowl at the state level. No state tournament, and for 2011-12 there was no NAQT State qualifier (the 2010-11 iteration featured four teams from three schools).

As to the topic, my advice would be to square it with the two sets of coaches and players you would be working with.

Horned Screamer wrote:I'm confused about the nature of the schools you're enrolled in. Could you explain why it is you are taking classes for two high schools? Is this a case of a magnet school within a larger school?

One school is a magnet school that anyone school in our district can send students to in order to take AP and IB classes. The other one is technically my main school. It is the one I will graduate from, but I'm only taking two out of eight classes there next year. By the time I graduate, I will actually have about as many credits from both of them.

The difference is, one of them is probably only going to go to two tournaments (and hopefully HSNCT) because it doesn't actually have a coach. The main school is doing History Bowl only, but the coach said he would be willing to travel for a tournament to get us used to playing Quiz Bowl (since he recruited mainly players who haven't done QB before), and he is talking about going somewhere that it is more competitive (Missouri, Illinois, etc.) so we can get practice that is closer to NHBB nationals competition, rather than Iowa, which is really noncompetitive, as you probably know. Neither team has a problem with what I'm doing (as long as it doesn't conflict, which it won't), but I wanted to make sure that it wasn't against rules. I certainly feel that playing for two schools so I can play more tournaments isn't an ethical problem. It's not like I would be the reason that either of them won, either, considering I got a total of five questions in ten games at the only Quiz Bowl competition I have went to.

nhscody wrote:Technically, I go to two schools, and both are going to have Quiz Bowl teams next year. I'm wondering if I would be allowed to play on both of their teams at NAQT events and History Bowl, not at the same tournament, of course. The reason that I want to do this is because one is going to History Bowl nationals, assuming they make it, which I expect they will, and the other's goal is to attend HSNCT. Is it allowed to play for two teams at different events?

What you do regarding NAQT has no bearing on your NHBB eligibility (and I imagine the reverse is true). Basically, for NHBB, you can't play for two schools, unless you formally transfer during the year, but in your current position you can pick either one for NHBB purposes, so for NHBB at least, your plan is fine. In any case, I certainly encourage you to play both NHBB and all-subject quizbowl tournaments - the one is not a substitute for the other, but the more you play the one, the better you will do at the other too.Also, if you are looking for Nationals level NHBB competition, I would suggest attending either our Missouri or Illinois State tournaments. Both of those will be on our "A set" (i.e. similar to Nationals in terms of caliber of questions, and some of the strongest teams in the country). That said, getting additional experience on our other two sets, each of which will be used in Iowa in 2012-13, doesn't hurt either.

David MaddenRidgewood (NJ) '99, Princeton '03Founder and Director: International History Bee and Bowl, National History Bee and Bowl, International History Olympiad, United States Geography Olympiad, National Sports and Entertainment History Bee, US History Bee, National Citizenship Bee, et al.Adviser and former head coach for Team USA at the International Geography Olympiad

NAQT eligibility rules wrote:6.A player with affiliations at multiple schools may compete for all such schools during the competition year, but may only represent a single school at any given tournament.